Sen. Mike Lee Supports Article V Initiatives to Amend Constitution

On February 1, 2014, my wife and I had the pleasure of attending a dinner that included Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Arizona Rep. David Schweikert (R-CD6), both of whom spoke and answered questions from the (approximately) 100 people who attended.

My favorite topic that evening dealt with the Constitution’s Article V provision wherein state legislatures have the power to amend the US Constitution without the permission or approval of Congress, the President, or the Supreme Court.

(Note: The Article V state-driven process for amending the Constitution, “Process 2”, does assign an administrative obligation to Congress, but gives Congress no vote or veto power whatsoever — the state legislatures are the final authority.)

Most Americans are still unaware of this Article V provision, explicitly placed in the Constitution by the Framers. In particular, George Mason and James Madison foresaw the day when the federal government could become so powerful and overbearing that We the People, through our state legislatures, would have to re-assert our ultimate authority and amend the Constitution ourselves.

So what did Rep. Schweikert and Senator Lee have to say? Relying mostly on my recollection:

Rep. Schweikert spoke (among other things) about the culture and mentality in Congress. As he has been telling us since he was first elected to Congress (2010), virtually all his colleagues in both chambers care most about getting re-elected. It should not be surprising, therefore, that an addiction to spending and borrowing has overtaken Congress. The cash we send to Washington can be used, indirectly, to buy votes, especially by the powerful lifetime legislative-class elites in both parties. Newcomers who try to stand in the way can get run over or marginalized.

Mike Lee spoke in general terms about Big Government, and in the open Q&A session I had the opportunity to ask him about Article V initiatives like ConventionOfStates.com (COS) and CompactForAmerica.org (CFA) that could provide an effective “intervention” for Congress’ spending and borrowing addiction.

These are the key points in Sen. Lee’s response —

Sen. Lee used to oppose attempts to use Article V Process 2 because he thought the results were too unpredictable.

After its publication in August, 2013, Sen. Lee read Mark Levin’s The Liberty Amendmentsthree times(!), and he has had multiple conversations with Mark Levin.

When a Constitutional Republican of Sen. Lee’s experience and intellect endorses the use of Article V Process 2, I take it as confirmation that we “Fivers” are on the right track!

A proper term-limits amendment could break up the “old bulls’ clubs” in both parties, giving the newly elected Constitutionalists greater sway. And a sensible balanced budget amendment could break the pattern of runaway spending and borrowing. Some in Congress who feel they are stuck on the spending and borrowing treadmill, like those Rep. Schweikert talked about, would tacitly welcome the outside intervention of the state legislatures. And supporters like Lee and Schweikert could help draw Congress to the resulting changes.

There are multiple Fiver initiatives that are now pursuing different Article V Process 2 mechanisms. While we have differing means, we have common ends, and it is vital that we view one another as allies in this fight.

Do you want to get involved? Visit ConventionOfStates.com, CompactForAmerica.org, or other Article V sites and sign up. Join one or more of these groups, but please do join up. Our greatest strength is in our numbers and our commitment to take back our government by We the People from the ever-growing Leviathan in Washington.

David Leeper is a retired engineer living in Scottsdale, AZ, with his wife of 45 years. He is currently a volunteer science teacher at AzScienceLab.com. In his 40-year career he held positions from lab technician to technical vice president at Bell Labs, Motorola, and Intel. He holds 16 patents in telecom technology and a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. During his career, he wrote mainly for technical journals including Scientific American. He began writing for WesternFreePress.com in 2011.